Surface-wave images of western Canada: lithospheric variations across the Cordillera–craton boundary

Abstract

Two-station surface-wave analysis was used to measure Rayleigh-wave phase velocities between 105 station pairs in western Canada, straddling the boundary between the tectonically active Cordillera and the adjacent stable craton. Major variations in phase velocity are seen across the boundary at periods from 15 to 200 s, periods primarily sensitive to upper mantle structure. Tomographic inversion of these phase velocities was used to generate phase velocity maps at these periods, indicating a sharp contrast between low-velocity Cordilleran upper mantle and high-velocity cratonic lithosphere. Depth inversion along selected transects indicates that the Cordillera–craton upper mantle contact varies in dip along the deformation front, with cratonic lithosphere of the Taltson province overthrusting Cordilleran asthenosphere in the northern Cordillera, and Cordilleran asthenosphere overthrusting Wopmay lithosphere further south. Localized high-velocity features at sub-lithospheric depths beneath the Cordillera are interpreted as Farallon slab fragments, with the gap between these features indicating a slab window. A high-velocity feature in the lower lithosphere of the Slave province may be related to Proterozic or Archean subduction.